The Land of Al-Madinah

Caravan to Rasheik

Big Red is hiring

22

JAN/14

Ash-Akkad was abuzz with activity. Rumours were flying that there was to be a Wedding! Hormano the merchant was arranging to have one of his daughters, Kira to be wed to a prince in Rasheik. The Southern market was crowded with folks jostling to be hired to the mightiest caravan seen in generations.

Hormano was sparing no expense. Rumour was that there was going to be hundreds of horses and camels as part of the caravan. Some had even caught glimpses of five mighty wagons absolutely loaded with gifts and produce.

Sargon a nomad caravan guard had only been in town for a few days when the news reached him. He quickly found out that the caravan was hiring guards, dancers, cooks, animal handlers and more. He sought out the hiring staff and jostled his way into the queue for the guards.

Gilgamesh the priest of As-Sumon had also made his way to the hiring square. He was on a pilgrimage to spread the word of the Mother Goddess and a caravan to the sordid city of Rasheik was a great opportunity to do so.

The guards were surprised to see a holy man applying for a post and were most interested to see him and to received blessings. An older guard captain asked the priest to demonstrate his use to the caravan. The young priest knelt to the ground and bowed his head, praying for a blessing from As-Sumon. By her blessing he brought forth water from the dry sand at his feet. The guards let out a mighty roar and cheered to As-Sumon.

Nearby Sargon had been sorted into a group to be tested for their combat prowess. They were armed with wooden weapons and assigned sparing partners. They were not to to cause wounds to their opponents. His quickly bested his first opponent, a young but strong boy. The guards assigned him a stronger opponent for his second bout. A mighty beast of a man armed with a huge curved blade.

This was a much closer battle. Sargon and his opponent circled each other and tested each others’ defenses. With each parried blow the big warrior grew angrier. After a couple more testing strikes the larger warrior landed a successful blow to Sargon’s shoulder. It was evident that the brute had stopped holding back.

Sargon reeled slightly and knew he had to be careful. He waited for the large warrior to charge him down. He ducked under the swing and landed a successful strike to his opponent’s legs and sent him tripping to the floor.

The guards called the fight off then. Sargon had proved his worth. Both Gilgamesh and Sargon were told that the caravan would leave at dawn in two days time. They could get any gear they needed from the caravan guards. Otherwise new recruits had this time to themselves.